Episode Summary
Attendant Yu successfully executes a revenge scheme against his rivals by trapping a monopolistic merchant in a devastating price manipulation plot. Meanwhile, a grief-stricken Li Shande learns of his loyal servant Lin Yinu's sacrificial death and vows to complete the lychee mission in his honor. The mission faces a critical crisis when Attendant Yu, in a calculated political move, refuses to sign a trade agreement with merchant Su Liang and instead demands to seize all of his horses, threatening the entire transport operation.
Spoiler Alert
The Litchi Road Episode 30 Recap & Spoilers: An Enemy's Gambit, A Friend's Betrayal
In the treacherous courts and along the perilous trade routes of the Tang Dynasty, alliances are fragile and fortunes can turn in an instant. This episode sees Attendant Yu, a man fighting for his place in the palace, lay a brilliant trap for his enemies. Meanwhile, Li Shande is struck by a devastating loss that reinforces his resolve, just as his crucial partnership with the merchant Su Liang is pushed to the breaking point by political machinations.
Attendant Yu's Revenge
The episode flashes back three years to reveal Attendant Yu's precarious position in the palace, where he was constantly undermined by his superior, Chief Eunuch Wang. To secure his footing, Yu accepted a high-stakes assignment from the Right Chancellor: procuring a large quantity of white wax with only a tenth of the usual budget.
Sensing an opportunity to crush his rival, Chief Eunuch Wang conspired with Zhou Sanlang, a local thug who monopolized the wax market, to drive up prices. Unwilling to be defeated, Attendant Yu devised a cunning counter-plan. After securing a personal loan from the Right Chancellor, he approached Zhou Sanlang, pretending to be buying on the Chancellor's behalf. He placed a massive order at the current market price, sweetening the deal with a promised bonus.
Believing he had the upper hand, Zhou Sanlang delivered the goods. But Yu immediately returned the entire shipment, claiming the "Right Chancellor is not satisfied" and demanding a higher quality product. Goaded by the greedy Chief Eunuch Wang, Zhou Sanlang doubled the price for the replacement order. Yu paid without argument, only to return the shipment a second time for the same reason. This masterstroke of psychological and economic warfare left Zhou Sanlang with an enormous, unsellable inventory. When he desperately sought help from Chief Eunuch Wang, the doors were closed on him, leaving the thug financially ruined and utterly broken.
A Vow at a Lonely Grave
Li Shande's quest is dealt a heavy emotional blow when he learns the fate of his loyal servant, Lin Yinu. While searching for him with a gift of red wine, he is told that Lin Yinu died from exhaustion while leading pursuers away from Li Shande, his body left to be devoured by wild beasts.
A-Tong leads a grief-stricken Li Shande through the pouring rain to Lin Yinu's crude, unmarked grave. Overwhelmed by sorrow and guilt, Li Shande makes a solemn vow to see the lychee mission through to the end in Chang'an, to honor the man who sacrificed everything for him. He then takes a knife and personally carves the characters for "Loyal Servant" into the tombstone, a permanent testament to his gratitude and renewed purpose.
A Web of Bribery and Betrayal
The political maneuvering around the lychee mission intensifies. He Youguang attempts to bribe Attendant Yu through an intermediary, Zhao Xinmin, but his lavish gifts are promptly sent back. Desperate, they try to enlist Zheng Pingan to arrange a meeting, but Zheng, still nervous from his previous impersonation of Ma Guiyun, feigns ignorance. Boxed in, Zheng suggests they try to tempt Yu with the deed to the lychee orchard itself, a plan He Youguang reluctantly agrees to.
At the same time, the foreign merchants (Hu Shang) who had previously withdrawn their support for the lychee transport are now scrambling to get back in. Seeing that Su Liang has successfully forged a trade route from Lingnan to Chang'an, they are desperate for a share of the profits.Xiao Yunchuan hosts a banquet to flatter Su Liang, with the merchants begging to invest. Su Liang, a shrewd but fair businessman, agrees to discuss the matter with Li Shande.
The situation comes to a head when Su Liang and Li Shande finally meet with Attendant Yu to sign the official trade contract that would secure their partnership. But Yu, now wielding power in the Emperor's name, refuses to sign.
Li Shande frantically tries to explain that Su Liang has already liquidated his other assets, selling his ships and funding the repair of the courier stations out of his own pocket. Attendant Yu coldly dismisses him, stating he will simply "apply for government funding."
Seeing the partnership for the sham it is, a furious Su Liang storms out. He confronts Li Shande, lamenting that he has staked his entire fortune only to be double-crossed. Li Shande, a logistics expert completely out of his depth in the world of political intrigue, can only promise to do everything in his power to fix the catastrophic setback.
